Thursday, May 31, 2018

‘National Rebirth of Circassians’ an Accomplished Fact – and Moscow is Worried

Paul
Goble

Staunton, May 30 – Despite the
uptick in international attention the Circassians received at the time of the
2014 Sochi Olympics, many people in the West were inclined to dismiss them as
an echo of a distant past.But now,
their national rebirth is a fait accompli,
a development underscored by Moscow’s actions at home and abroad.

What is striking is that the Russian
powers that be appear less worried about the Circassians themselves than about
the possibility that the Circassians will unite others against Moscow and become
a model, because of their successful revival of a national movement, for other
oppressed peoples in the Russian Federation itself.

On the one hand, Moscow is clearly
worried that the Circassians, five million of whom live in the Middle East as a
result of their 1864 expulsion from the Russian Empire, might become the
nucleus of an anti-Moscow popular movement there and has launched a propaganda
campaign against that possibility (almanar.com.lb/3802797).

And
on the other, as Israeli analyst Avraham Shmulyevich points out, “the
Circassian rebirth may serve as an inspiration for other peoples” in the Russian
empire of today and for Cossack groups in particular.That is because the Circassians and the
Cossacks have a long, fraught but ultimately respectful relationship (kafkassam.com/черкесское-политическое-движение-пр.html).

From
Moscow’s perspective, either of those developments would represent a greater
threat to Russian interests than even the restoration of a Circassian Republic
within the Russian Federation. And consequently, it appears likely that some
Circassian activists are going to be able to exploit those fears to get a
better deal for their people.

Up
to now, these developments are happening below the radar screen of most Western
governments and analysts, just as the revived national movements in the Soviet
Union did until they were already strong. Like these predecessors, the Circassians
certainly deserve more attention and support than they have received up to now.